We're going to be building lots more big kit in the UK over the next couple of years, according to the government's autumn statement. But will we be investing in the right things?

George Osborne did more than wind up environmentalists with his claims that as a result of "environmental goals … businesses will fail, jobs will be lost, and our country will be poorer." The chancellor also set out a big shift in economic course, with £6bn investment in government infrastructure spending, to be topped-up by a further £20bn leveraged from pension funds.

Investing in infrastructure is a good thing to do – and is certainly far better than the indiscriminate boost to consumption offered by Labour's VAT cuts or the collapse of demand caused by Osborne's rapid spending reductions. Infrastructure investment will not only stimulate the economy in the short-term, but will also put us in a far better position to compete in the future.

The question, then, is what kind of infrastructure we invest in. And, unfortunately for the nation, what Osborne actually announced was a massive road building plan, with a slew of old schemes plucked-off the shelves, dusted-off and re-presented. There were a couple of rail and public transport schemes, but the vast majority of the spend appears to be going on road-related projects. (With the south Bristol link, the government is even funding a road-building scheme disguised as a public transport).

Of course, the argument will be made that the economy is so bad that the government has to get things moving by pushing through all sorts of unsustainable schemes, from motorway widening to low-grade housing.

Clearly, we do need to transform our creaking UK infrastructure, and the economy could do with the boost. But we also need to see the right stuff being built. Priority number one should be the transformation to a low-carbon economy and the scaling-up of sustainable energy. There was some good news here, for example £100m earmarked for business energy efficiency projects and £200m for an early 'trailer' of the Green Deal. But this falls far short of the scale of the challenge – and opportunity – in front of us.

The second big priority, and one that ticks all three sustainability boxes, is investment in digital infrastructure.

In economic terms, this would bring huge benefit to the economy, with more and more wealth being generated online.

Socially, digital inclusion can bring access to services to hard-to-reach communities, particularly the geographically hard to reach in rural areas, as well as providing the platforms for collaboration to solve problems.

It will also benefit the environment and can help society to 'dematerialise', replacing the physical with the virtual, for example through telepresencing. It allows us to measure and manage scarce resources, making more efficient use of what we have, for example, through smart grids or smart cities. And it can integrate different technologies and infrastructures in ways that are good for quality of life and the environment, through intelligent buildings or enhanced public transport.

The chancellor did have some good things to say on this, including plans to bring superfast broadband to 90% of homes and businesses in the UK. But this will not be enough to properly include rural areas – and may actually increase the digital divide they face. It also falls far short of what others are spending. Consider, for example, that Australia – an economy a fifth of the size of ours - is investing the equivalent of around £18bn in its national broadband network.

Investing more in infrastructure is good, but let's use this money to cut carbon and improve future competitiveness rather than make investments that lock us into high-carbon ways of living. Let's reduce the need to travel, rather than building more roads. And let's get a digital infrastructure that connects people, gives them information, and rapidly spreads the practices that can positively change the status quo.